The Battle and The War
by Paige M. Carter
Summary: Seth realizes just what he lost when he joined The Authority. AU for all of 2014-15. Past Ambrollins, hints of Ambreigns. Contains mpreg, if you don't like that, don't read. Full notes inside.


Note: This is a one shot that came off of a larger story that I'm currently working on. So consider this a trailer of sorts for that story.

Disclaimer: I own nothing here. These characters belong to WWE. Do not sue me.

DSRDSRDSRDSRDSRDSRDSR

The ironic thing about Seth's 'betrayal' of Roman and Dean, specifically Dean, was that he was doing it _for_ them, or at least for Dean. His relationship with his Shield teammate had morphed from fuck buddies to a genuine relationship, though one they'd agreed to keep hidden, even from Roman. It wasn't until Seth realized that all of his plans for the future included Dean, and the children he was hopeful he could convince Dean to have, that he realized how hooked he was.

He wanted to give Dean the world, or at least all the things his lover had been denied as a child: a stable home, a loving family, any material possession his little heart could want; even though Dean always said that possessions only made you a target. He wanted to open a wrestling school or become a teacher at NXT and teach the next generation of wrestlers.

The kink in those plans was that they all required money; that was the only reason he'd taken The Authority's offer. They'd promised him money, main event status, anything he wanted if he'd join them and turn on Dean and Roman.

He'd convinced himself that it would all work out, that he would be able to make Dean and Roman understand that it was all for the best. It wasn't until after it was too late to change his mind, that he realized just what he'd gotten himself into. He hadn't wanted to say all those hateful things about Roman and Dean, but it was made clear to him that he had no choice; he'd sold his soul, now he had to follow through with it.

Even with all that, he'd still kept hope alive that he'd be able to straighten this mess out once he had the WWE Championship belt in his possession, even when it seemed that The Authority was secretly sabotaging his efforts in order to keep him on side.

When he'd won the Championship, he'd rejoiced; now he was sure that he could talk to Dean, explain just what had happened and be forgiven. For all his surliness, Dean was a forgiving soul, the man visited his mother's grave whenever they were in Cincinnati for heaven's sake. Seth was sure that if he could just explain what had been going on, he could convince Dean to come back to him.

Now, as he stood in the back and watched Dean and Roman's daughter celebrate Roman's Royal Rumble victory in the ring, he, along with everyone else in the WWE Universe, finds his eyes drawn to Dean's bulging belly, and a horrible realization takes shape. He had been puzzled by Dean's sudden move back to NXT as a commentator. He knew that Dean had nagging injuries from his Jon Moxley days, but the sudden change had been suspicious. The fans had been in an uproar, even after Dean proved himself to be a fantastic play-by-play and color guy, something that didn't surprise Seth.

Now, looking at Dean's bulging stomach, everything was starting to make sense, and it was making Seth sick to his stomach. He knew what that bulge meant and he knew without a doubt who was responsible.

He wanted to be angry. He wanted to storm into the ring and demand an explanation from both Roman and Dean, demand that Dean come home with him and get this straightened out, but he didn't, he couldn't. This was his fault, him and his stupidity had made cost him everything he'd been trying to protect. Plus, it would upset Dean, something Seth hated doing, and it would upset Roman's little girl who was half asleep in her father's arms.

He walked out from behind the curtain, if nothing else than to get the crowd buzzing about the Wrestlemania main event that had become even more personal, but really he just wanted to see Dean in person.

It hurt to see the fear in Dean's eyes when he came into the ring, or to see Roman quickly hand his daughter to Rock's mother and pull Dean behind him.

There were a thousand things he wanted to say, but they were all stuck in his throat. He and Roman looked into each other's eyes, listening to the crowd vibrate with excitement. Neither man had to say anything, they both knew that Wrestlemania had become about a lot more than just the belt Seth was carrying.

Seth knew that he had an uphill battle ahead of him, not just for the championship, but for Dean and the baby, Seth's baby, that he was carrying. At this point, Seth didn't care if he lost the WWE Championship, the belt had become meaningless when he realized just what he'd thrown away for it; what he was looking to win was much more important: He wanted to win Dean back, win their unborn child back. He wanted to win the right to be there when their baby was born, to hold it in his arms, cut the umbilical cord, be there for all the milestones. He might lose the belt, he might keep it, he didn't really care at this point, his eyes were on the bigger prize, the prize of his family. Roman might win the battle for the belt, but Seth was determined to win the war for Dean.

The End.


End file.
